any recs for easter weekend?

[happyjack]

just joined and i'm already looking for handouts!

i've got a young family (kids' ages 7&5) and we're looking for somewhere that will hopefully still have decent snow over easter weekend (Mar 21-23). we'll be driving from baltimore, maryland and would like to keep the drive under 8 hours...assuming that keeps us in ski-able snow country...that puts the southern adirondacks and southern green mtns in play, although whiteface and MRG are prolly too far.

would like a smaller resort (not stowe/killington/stratton) with good kids program -- kids are beginners, but making snowplow turns. the wife and i are just getting back into skiing after a 10-year lay-off, so we're not at all worried about highly technical/vertical runs. and, of course what everyone else wants...small crowds. on easter weekend? yeah, right.

some resorts i've found online that would seem to fit the mold we're looking for: magic, bromley, and maybe gore (yeah, i know it's not small, but fits into the driving distance/snow probability equation).

any place else i should consider?

thanks!
~jack

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

Mt Snow is more of a resort and decent ski school and terrain for all....Bromley is laid back and low key, ski school is decent as well.

 

[SIKSKIER]

Sunapee might work also/

 

[kcyanks1]

Rather than driving 8 hours from Baltimore to only reach the southern ski areas, have you considered flying out west? More of a guarantee of good snow and not any more time. It would likely cost more, though and maybe flying is just too much to deal with for only a weekend of skiing.

 

[playoutside]

Bromley is great fun for a family. It's also a sunny mountain which adds to the fun for newer skiers. There is usually plenty of snow in March.

Spent Easter there 2 or 3 years ago. There is usually an Easter Bunny on skis and there was an egg hunt on the mountain. Funny watching the little guys running in the snow in ski boots trying to get to an egg. Bigger kids cold look for truly hidden eggs all over the mountain -- one had a next season pass in it!

 

[MR. evil]

we've made 8 trips to liberty this year; going to blue knob this weekend and looking for someplace in VT for easter weekend...maybe magic?

thanks for having me...

~jack

Magic is an awsome place, but also one that I wouldn't want to plan a trip around in advance. It is really hit or miss. After a storm the place rocks. But you could book the trip now and by Easter weekend the place could be a mess, they don't make much if any snow there. A better bet would be a large hill like Snow, Okemo, Stratton as they have much more reliable conditions. A better bet would be to head up to the MRV (MRG or Sugar Bush) or Jay as they have received record snow fall this month and will be skiing great for quite some time.

 

[happyjack]

hey all, thanks for the ideas.

sunapee looks great...although it is about an hour further than bromley or magic.

i'd love to fly out west, and i did think about the logistics of getting to vermont vs. colorado or utah. but as you mentioned cost is a serious consideration. back of the napkin calculations are about $1000 to do vermont vs. $4000-$6000 for colorado/utah. considering i had not even put this trip into the vacation budget this year, i need to go with the lower priced option this time.

my goal is to do colorado/utah next year.

re: bromley -- it's fairly close to magic, right? i found some decent lodging but it's near magic. would we be able to do a different mountain each day from there?

thanks again!

 

[happyjack]

paul - unfortunately when i'm locked up in cube hell (aka work) i'm not nearly as happy as when i'm on a mountain or on the water. but, i do love me some who, as my username implies.

mr.evil - yeah, that's exactly what i was thinking about the smaller places. i guess that's the trade off versus going to a place like stratton. if i booked at magic (found some good lodging their already), isn't stratton pretty close by? obviously not ideal to have to drive there each day, but would it be a reasonable back-up plan if magic isn't skiiable.

and btw, i'm sure my requirements for "skiiable" are waaaay more forgiving than most of yours. my home mountain, liberty, is a little bump on the md/pa state line.

thanks again for the welcome!

 

[gmcunni]

re: bromley -- it's fairly close to magic, right? i found some decent lodging but it's near magic. would we be able to do a different mountain each day from there?

thanks again!

if you stay @ magic you'd be close to Bromely. Stratton and Okemo are not more than 30 minutes away either.

with small children you might find Okemo a good option. large but not a difficult mountain to ski. They also have an easter egg hunt scheduled:
March 23 Okemo's Annual Easter Egg Hunt
In Okemo’s annual Easter Egg Hunt, the hills are teeming with colored eggs stuffed with prizes, but there’s only one Golden Egg hidden on an Open Trail at Okemo. The one who finds that, wins a pair of skis or a snowboard.

 

[MR. evil]

hey all, thanks for the ideas.

sunapee looks great...although it is about an hour further than bromley or magic.

i'd love to fly out west, and i did think about the logistics of getting to vermont vs. colorado or utah. but as you mentioned cost is a serious consideration. back of the napkin calculations are about $1000 to do vermont vs. $4000-$6000 for colorado/utah. considering i had not even put this trip into the vacation budget this year, i need to go with the lower priced option this time.

my goal is to do colorado/utah next year.

re: bromley -- it's fairly close to magic, right? i found some decent lodging but it's near magic. would we be able to do a different mountain each day from there?

thanks again!

Bromley is about 10 minutes from Magic in one direction, and about 10 minutes from Stratton in the opposite direction. Okemo is also really close.

 

[The Sneak]

Go to Mt Snow. They should be 100% open and there will be plenty of easter activities.

There's plenty for families there.

 

[MarkC]

How about Wisp MD? Its close, small enough to not get lost in the mega resort scene, and should still have decent snow coverage in late March.

 

[KingM]

I would take that extra hour or two and go to Northern Vermont. You're coming far enough and it's late enough in the season it could make a big difference. Either the snow is bad in the more southern resorts or its good and you'll spend significantly more in lift lines than you would further north. All you have to do is spend an extra 3-5 minutes per run in line over the weekend and you've lost more time than you gained by not driving a bit farther north.

I know this looks like I'm shilling for the Mad River Valley (okay, maybe I am, a bit. It is sweeter up here, after all), but you might also consider Stowe, or even Bolton Valley, which has a great intermediate/beginner vibe and is great for kids.

 

[happyjack]

i'm not worried about an extra run or two each day...the kids will wear out long before i do. i feel like i'm already pushing it trying to drive 7-8 hours as it is...and that's assuming i don't get bogged down going through jersey and nyc.

How about Wisp MD? Its close, small enough to not get lost in the mega resort scene, and should still have decent snow coverage in late March.

wisp is one of my favorites within a 2-3 hr drive of b-more. i've skied it many times over the years, but never after february. avg daily temp in late march is in the 50s...i just don't think i want to risk booking wisp and then have to change plans at last minute...and possibly be blocked out of finding lodging up north.

besides, i haven't been on a VT hill in about 15 years and want to reward myself (and my family) for suffering though a winter at liberty! :-D

 

[deadheadskier]

How about Wisp MD? Its close, small enough to not get lost in the mega resort scene, and should still have decent snow coverage in late March.

I wouldn't count on that. I worked there one winter. Easter weekend will be the last weekend. Sure it's only 3 hours from Baltimore, but the snow gets soft there quick in spring and the lack of pitch/verticle really dampens things.

I'd be far more inclined to do Seven Springs that time of year heading out that way as they will have a greater amount of off hill activities.

 

[Paul]

paul - unfortunately when i'm locked up in cube hell (aka work) i'm not nearly as happy as when i'm on a mountain or on the water. but, i do love me some who, as my username implies.

mr.evil - yeah, that's exactly what i was thinking about the smaller places. i guess that's the trade off versus going to a place like stratton. if i booked at magic (found some good lodging their already), isn't stratton pretty close by? obviously not ideal to have to drive there each day, but would it be a reasonable back-up plan if magic isn't skiiable.

and btw, i'm sure my requirements for "skiiable" are waaaay more forgiving than most of yours. my home mountain, liberty, is a little bump on the md/pa state line.

thanks again for the welcome!

I hear ya on the cube thing....

Magic, Stratton, Bromley and Okemo are all within about a 1/2 hour of each other. Mt. Snow and K-Mart aren't too far either, nor is Ascutney. Book a place anywhere around the Manchester/Ludlow area and you'll be fine. Many options available.

 

[happyjack]

thanks paul!

my wife found a place she liked at magic, and there was no getting her off of it. so we're booked at the inn on magic mountain from march 20-23. it's nice family suite set-up for the kids at a very reasonable rate. if we need to drive somewhere else, it's no big deal...we'll drive 1:15 just to get in 4 hours at liberty, so driving 30 min to get to a considerably better vt hill doesn't even register as an inconvenience.

we also found out from the inkeeper that week is the u.s. snowboard championship at stratton...so much for avoiding the crowds.:roll:

 

[Paul]

thanks paul!

my wife found a place she liked at magic, and there was no getting her off of it. so we're booked at the inn on magic mountain from march 20-23. it's nice family suite set-up for the kids at a very reasonable rate. if we need to drive somewhere else, it's no big deal...we'll drive 1:15 just to get in 4 hours at liberty, so driving 30 min to get to a considerably better vt hill doesn't even register as an inconvenience.

we also found out from the inkeeper that week is the u.s. snowboard championship at stratton...so much for avoiding the crowds.:roll:

np...

Magic is a great option. however, if conditions suck, and Flatton is busy, Bromley would be my next choice.

 

[happyjack]

cool...sounds like a plan. thanks again for the help.

like i said, my expectations for conditions is really reasonable. i'm just stoked to get the kids on a real hill this year. we're stepping it up this weekend a bit and driving past liberty to blue knob...definitely the best option within a 3-hour drive for me.